Floating dock.



No. 741,958 PATENTBD 0GT.20,1903.

0. H. EHLERS.

FLOATING DOCK.

APPLIO-ATION FILED AUG. 5, 1903 N0 12:01am..- '2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

r um um. THE NoRms PETERS co. PNOTO-UTMO.. WA-IHYNGT Patented October20, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

OTTO H. EHLERS, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

FLOATING DOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 741,958, dated October20, 1903.

Application filed August 5, 1903. Serial No. 168,254.. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OTTO H. EHLERS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Baltimore, State of Maryland, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Float-- ing Dry-Docks, of which the following isa specification.

My invention relates to floating docks, and has for its object toprovide a dock of simple construction and which may be quickly andreadily self-docked for the purpose of painting or repairlng.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure 1 illustrates a top plan view showing one form of the improveddock; Fig. 2, a side elevation of one dock-section; Fig. 3,a verticalcross-section on line 3 3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4, a top plan view of thedock-section which coacts with the dock-section shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 5,a vertical cross-section of the dock on line 5 5 with one of thedock-sections raised above the water-line for painting or repairing.Fig. 6 is a side elevation of the vertic'ally-movable joint. Fig. 7 is aperspective View of the joint on a larger scale.

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that the floating dock iscomposed of two independently-movable sections A and B. In the presentinstance A comprises a side wall a, which extends, preferably, theentire length of the dock and is provided with a plurality ofintegrally-connected pontoons a, which extend laterally or at rightangles to said side .wall. In the present instance the dock-section A isprovided with two of these pontoons, one at each end of the said sidewall; but it is to be understood that said section may be provided withmore than two pontoons. As is shown in the drawings, the said sectionhas the end pontoons provided at their opposite sides with a shortvertical wall a which latter are also integral with the pontoons a, butin the present example are shorter than the latter. It will thus be seenthat the dock-section A comprises a long side wall, two short sidewalls, and a plurality of pontoons, all of which are integral or rigidlyconnected.

The dock-section B comprises a side wall b, which may be of any length,but in the present example is shorter than the main wall a.

of the other dock-section A, and one or more rigidly-connected pontoonsb, which extend laterally or at right angles to said wall I) and takebetween the pontoons a of the other dock-section A. It is to beunderstood that the number of pontoons b on the one section B is to beregulated by the number of pontoons a employed by the other section A,so that when the two dock-sections are in the proper position withrespect to each other for receiving a ship the pontoon rigidly securedto one section shall project toward the wall of the other section andfit in between or overlap the pontoon rigidly secured to the said othersection.

It is to be understood that the engines, boilers, pumps, and otherparaphernalia usually employed in floating docks may be installed aspreferred. It is also to be understood that a dock thus consisting ofonly two sections may be secured together by joint devices of anysuitable or convenient construction; but one feature of my inventioncontemplates such construction of joint as to permit either of the twodock-sections to be moved or adjusted vertically independently of theother without completely disconnecting the joint. When it is desired toselfdock one section, the bolts of the joint must be removed, and theother section will be lowered by the admission of water. The j ointboltswill then be replaced to secure the two sections together. The waterwill then be pumped out of the lowered dock-section, and the sectionwhich it is desired to self-dock will-thereupon be lifted by the otherdocksection out of the water, as shown in Fig. 5.

A joint device suitable and adapted to be operated as just described isillustrated in Figs. 6 and 7. This joint comprises a rail member 0,having a flange c, by means of which the same may be secured to thevertical sides of either the pontoons or walls. This rail has a head 0and a web 0 connecting the head with the flange, and the web is providedwith a series of perforations or holes 0 which extend in a line parallelwith respect to said rail. Ooacting with the rail member 0 is a clampingmemberD, which is also adapted to be secured to the vertical sides ofsaid pontoons or side walls.- It is obvious that the clamping membermust be secured to the vertical wall of one dock-section, while the railmember must-be attached to the other dock-section. This clamping memberDcomprises two plates (1, each of which is provided with a channelordepression d, shaped to fit around one side of the head a of the railmember, so that when the said two plates are placed side by side the twochannels or depressions will register and form a guideway, whichsurrounds the said head 0 of the rail member and permits verticalmovement of either the rail or clamp with respect to each other. The twoplates have flanges d which bear on the web 0 and these flanges are eachprovided with a series of perforations or holes d which are so spaced asto register with the holes 0 of the rail member, whereby a plurality ofbolts may be inserted in said perforations and secure the clamp and railrigidly together. In the present instance the clamps are illustrated asbeing shorter than the rails and 1 two clamps are provided for eachrail, which should be long enough for a dock-section to be fully raised;but it is to be understood that the clamps and rails may, if preferred,be of the same length, in which case only one clamp would be providedfor engaging each rail. The construction of these joints is such thateither dock-section may be raised rela tive to the other to ettectselfdocking without at any time permitting either dock-section to haveindependent lateral movement.

It is advantageous and desirable to provide a swinging bridge c at oneor both ends of the dock, whereby workmen and others engaged on a vesselmay cross from the wall at one side to the wall at the other side. Theshort wall a at each end of the dock-section A secures this advantage.

It will be seen that a floating dock of the construction hereindescribed-that is, comprising two sections which are movableindependently of each other and each section having a vertical side walland one or more pontoons integrally connected with said sidewall-entirely dispenses with the undesirable feature of disconnectingthe numerous drainpipe connections between the side wall and pontoonwhich are necessary in other docks having the side walls and pontoonsindependent of each other. -It also avoids the use of disconnectingvalve-operating gear of the pumping system, which is necessary in somedecks when self-docking.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A floating dock consisting of two sections which are verticallymovable independently of each other and each section comprising avertical side wall and one or more pontoons integrally connected withsaid side wall and extending at right angles from said wall.

2. A floating dock having two sections which are movable independentlyof each other and each section comprising a'vertical side wall and oneor more pontoons integrally connected with said side wall and extendingatright angles from said wall and the pontoons on the section which hasa plural number of pontoons being spaced apart or separated from eachother, whereby the pontoon on the other section will fit in said spacebetween the pontoons of the opposite section.

3. A floating dock having two sections independently movable withrespect to each other, one of said dock-sections having a side wallwhich is provided at each end with a rigidly connected laterallyextending pontoon, and the other dock-section also having a side wallprovided at its center with a rig idly-connected laterally-extendingpontoon fitting between the end pontoons of the other section.

4. Afloatingdock consisting of two sections independently movable withrespect to each other, and each section having a vertical side wall, andthe side wall of one section being longer than the side wall of theother section.

5. A floating dock having two sections one of which is provided with aside wall having a rigidly-connected pontoon at each end and the othersection having a side wall which is shorter than the side wall of thefirst-named section and also having a pontoon which takes between thetwo end pontoons of the said flrst-named section.

6. A floating dock having two sections independently movable withrespect to each other, and one section'having a single side wallextending lengthwise of the dock and which is provided at each end withan integrally-connected pontoon and each of said pontoons having at itsopposite side an integral side wall which is shorter than the pontoon towhich it is attached, and the other dock-section having a side wallwhich its between the two short side walls of the firstnamed section.

7. A floating dock comprising side walls of different lengths andpontoons formed integrally with one or the other of said side walls, andthe pontoons secured to one wall dovetailing or taking between thepontoons secured to the other wall.

8. A floating dock composed of two sections, each having a wall andintegrally-connected pontoons, and the two sections independentlymovable with respect to each other, one of said sections having a sidewall longer than the wall of the other and the shorter wall on onesection overlapping pontoons on the other section.

9. A floating dock comprising two sections vertically movable withrespect to each other and each section comprising a side wall and one ormore pontoons formed integrally with said side walls, the pontoons ofone section taking between the pontoons of the other section, and aplurality of joints connecting said walls and pontoons to permit eitherside wall and its pontoons to be moved vertically ICC Y with respect tothe other side Wall and its pontoons for self-docking and at the sametime retain the. two sections in their relative positions laterally.

10. In a floating dry-dock the combination with the sections, of atwo-member joint one member being a vertical rail having a head and longenough to permit a dock-section to be fully raised for self-docking, andthe other member being a clamp which grasps said rail-head and movablealong the rail

